


The fire within

by BAP_stardrop



Category: B.A.P
Genre: Creepy, Dreams and Nightmares, M/M, Out of Body Experiences, Paranormal, Precognition, Sleeping Paralysis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-14
Updated: 2015-06-14
Packaged: 2018-04-04 07:34:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4129834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BAP_stardrop/pseuds/BAP_stardrop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daehyun's mother had always told him to be cautious of fire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The fire within

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, this is my entry for the B.A.P Bingo Challenge! This week's promt was Ghosts/Paranormal. Please enjoy!

The mild summer air carried the laughter of the children. Happy faces surrounded him and he smiled, this place held such good memories for him. He let the smell of waffles and cotton candy fill his nose and sighed contently, he loved Lotte world. Himchan and he always went there when their tight schedule allowed them too ever since they came to Seoul.

“Come on Daehyun, I want to go on this roller coaster and after that we can go and get some snacks,” Himchan said as he tugged on the other's short sleeve. Daehyun rolled his eyes but he turned his head to look at said roller coaster his best friend was pointing at. It was tall and the wagons rushed over the rails so quick that it was difficult to follow them with his eyes. 

Daehyun gulped, he was not the biggest fan of these quick rides (he hated them) but this one was new and he had promised to ride it with Himchan. Only a few minutes, he said to himself, only a few minutes and it would be over. It would be no big deal and after that, he would probably laugh about how much of a coward he had been before.  
The queue was long and Daehyun could barely see the front, especially not with the mop of blonde hair in front of him that blocked the view. They stood in the line and waited, Himchan with patience and excitement and Daehyun with anxiety that he did not want to show. He had an odd feeling in his guts and he was sweating. It seemed as if the air around them was getting hotter and hotter. Daehyun tugged on the collar of his t-shirt to fan himself some fresh air but it helped very little for the droplets of sweat that were running down his back. It was probably the fear that made him sweat so much, he didn't like roller coasters after all, they made his stomach churn in an uncomfortable way. 

“Are you okay?” Himchan asked him. Daehyun realized that he had not paid attention to the other's words and he felt guilty. He nodded quickly, an apologetic look on his face. His throat felt too dry to speak and he licked his lips in hope it would make his throat feel less scratchy. Himchan laughed and playfully punched Daehyun's shoulder, murmuring mocking words loud enough that the people around them could hear. The blonde boy in front of him turned around and chuckled, but Daehyun kept his head lowered in embarrassment, chanting silent curses about Himchan. He would definitely get his own back on Himchan once the right situation came. 

From up close, the roller coaster seemed even taller and more intimidating from the distance and the awful feeling of dread crawled up in Daehyun's guts, twirling around his stomach to squeeze it. Daehyun honestly didn't want to step his feet into one of these wagons but he had promised Himchan and he didn't want to disappoint the other. He just wiped the sweat from his forehead and told himself to be brave, it would only be a few minutes.

But why was it so hot? It was a very warm summer day but the theme park was air conditioned and he should not be sweating like that. He turned around to look at Himchan but the other seemed fine. Was Daehyun's anxiety really getting under his skin so much? It would be their turn soon and the screams of the people could be heard, Daehyun really didn't want to be in their place. 

Suddenly, there was a screeching sound filling the air, followed by even louder screams than there had been before. His head automatically turned into the direction the screaming was coming from, right above him. The row of wagons had lost the grip to the rails in the middle of a looping and Daehyun just had time to watch them peel off the rails, wagon after wagon, before he felt the pushing from the front.  
Not only the people in the air but also the ones on the ground were now screaming and in a rush of panic, everyone tried to get away from the roller coaster as quick as possible. It was only a matter of time until the wagons that had now caught fire would fall down, crushing everything underneath them. Daehyun's heart was beating rapidly and he grabbed Himchan's wrist, trying to get some distance to the danger.

However, it wasn't as easy because everyone started squishing and pushing from all sides in the constricted space of the queue. Daehyun didn't dare to look back, his mind was on auto pilot and the only thing running right now was his sense to survive. It was getting harder to breathe and the screams were getting louder and more hysterical.  
He didn't have to turn around to know that the burning wagons were crashing down on the ground, the scared voices around him were loud enough. They were far enough away to not be crushed underneath the weight but there was not enough distance between them to not feel the heat coming from the exploding fire only a few meters away from them. The pushing got stronger as the flames gained height and with dread, Daehyun realized that if the space in front of them would not clear up soon, they would not make it out alive. 

Behind him, the blonde boy stumbled and almost knocked Daehyun over when he fell on his knees. After getting back his balance, he crouched down to help the blonde up. The blonde accepted his hand thankfully and got back up on his feet, Daehyun had just saved him from the fire. The way was finally clear and they could start moving. Just when Daehyun was about to turn around, the blonde lifted his head. A silent scream got stuck in Daehyun's throat when he saw that the boy's face was burned down beyond recognition. 

 

Daehyun's eyes shot open. In the break of dawn, he recognized the white pattern of his ceiling. He was in his room. His heart was racing and his body felt hot, way too hot. Beads of sweat rolled down his temples and he tried to lift his arm to wipe it away.  
It didn't work. As if a heavy weight was laying on his body, his limbs did not budge a single inch. That feeling was not unfamiliar, he had felt it before, though, it didn't take away the horror of it. In his room, he could hear the crackling of the fire and the screams of the people, just like in his dream. 

This was no dream, but the heat and the noises made it feel so real. Daehyun started to panic, he wanted it to stop, he wanted to move and just rip the heavy blanket off his chest but he couldn't, he was captured in his own body, a victim to his own dreams.  
He was laying there, waiting for it to pass, waiting for the lock on his body to snap and the paralysis to be gone. In his past, he had experienced this a couple of times and he knew that it was only a matter of time until everything would be over. But these dreams increased in intensity and the phases after got longer and longer.  
The fire was still sizzling in his ears, he wanted to turn his head and bury his ears into his pillow, do anything that would reduce the noises but he was helpless, the noises were only in his head anyway, he knew that. 

Suddenly there was a motion on his left, bringing another wave of panic over his body. He couldn't turn around to see what it was, but in his peripheral vision, he made out the silhouette of a man. The horrifying screams got quiet and died down slowly. For a split second, Daehyun felt relief but it only lasted until the silence was filled with choked breathing. The sound came from the silhouette, Daehyun wanted nothing more than inching away from it, sliding to the other side of the bed as far as he could.  
A sharp intake of breath made Daehyun's heart skip a beat. It sounded terrifying and agonized, as if he silhouette had trouble to get enough oxygen. The breathing rattled and increased in volume and intensity, it gave the impression that the male shadow tried to suck up more than only the air around him.

Daehyun wanted nothing but fall back to sleep, to end this nightmare but the shadow came closer, dragging its feet over the carpet heavily. A blonde mop of hair appeared in Daehyun's vision, he wanted to scream. He opened his mouth but no sound came out. Instead, his limbs started tingling and an odd sensation overcame him. It got stronger until Daehyun realized what it was.  
His soul was trying to leave his body, Daehyun panicked again, he didn't want that. Before, all he had wanted to do was to close his eyes and drift off but now he was too frightened to close his eyes. If only he could keep his eyes open, he would at least keep a little control, but his eyelids got heavier, the weight that had pressed his body down into the mattress seemed to gather right behind his eyelids, pulling them close with a strong force.  
In his mind, Daehyun started counting, it had always helped him to get out of this limbo. 

_One... Two... Three.. Four..._  
He resisted with all his power, he didn't want to die, he didn't want to let this happen.

_Five.. Six... Seven..._  
He could hear a dark laugh coming from the silhouette, Daehyun knew it was the boy from his dreams and maybe he had come to get Daehyun. But where did he want to bring him? Daehyun had saved him, shouldn't he be thankful? 

_Eight... Nine... Ten..._  
Daehyun's mother had always told him to be cautious with fire since he was a little boy. Ironically, this warning seemed to catch up on him right in this moment. 

_Eleven... Twelve..._  
It was harder and harder to fight this feeling. He was sweating, his shirt and shorts were clinging uncomfortably on his body. What would happen if the shadow won?

_Thirteen... Fourteen... Fifteen..._  
His eyes were so heavy, they kept falling close. Daehyun forced them open again but his lids were too heavy. 

_Sixteen... Seventeen... Eighteen..._  
As if Daehyun had pushed a button, a peaceful silence embraced him. For a moment he relaxed, he could breathe freely and the heavy feeling on his chest was gone. He felt light, a little too light in his opinion and he wasn't sure if this was a result of the lack of weight on him or not. 

Slowly, he opened his eyes. His room was upside down and he was looking straight down at his own self, laying in bed peacefully. For a moment he thought he was dead and the memories of his fight for his soul popped back into his mind, but his chest was raising and falling calmly, Daehyun was sure that he was sleeping. Was he dreaming? He tried to move his arm, his limb obeyed his instructions immediately.  
A look onto both of his hands showed him, that his substance had decreased, his fingers didn't look like how he imagined a ghost would look like but it didn't seem quite solid either. Curiosity aroused inside of him, he was levitating so he wanted to give it a try and move. With the power of his mind, he started moving, first slowly and when he became more confident, he flew a few rounds in his room. 

This was so amazing. For a moment he pondered over what he wanted to do with his new gained freedom and he decided to give it a try and leave the house. He started wandering around. It had only been a few months ago since he had moved to Seoul together with his best friend Himchan to attend University in the capitol of South Korea.  
Things were going well for both of them but their schedule was so packed, they had only little time to socialize and make new friends. Outside, the streets looked exactly what they looked like when he was awake, the lamp posts were illuminating the pavement with a dull light and occasionally there were cars driving past him. It was too early in the morning to be crowded yet but early risers were already on their way to work. Daehyun decided to explore the area, maybe he would find interesting things he could share with Himchan later on. 

When Daehyun arrived at his apartment again, it was light outside. Soon, his alarm would rip him out of his hopefully peaceful slumber and he wasn't actually sure what to do and how to get back into his body. His little trip had been very successful, he had found quite a few places he would like to show Himchan, such as a bar, a noodle restaurant and a large music shop.  
Daehyun stood next to his bed and waited for something to happen. It didn't take long until the light feeling in his limbs turned into a heaviness again. This time, it wasn't uncomfortable but simply felt like weight lulling him into sleep. Before he knew what was happening, his eyes fell shut and everything around him was dark. 

 

Daehyun's eyes opened again and he needed a moment to gather his thoughts. Had he been dreaming? He didn't know but he had no time to think about it any further. With a groan he rolled over to turn off the alarm that had woken him, the vibration of the device creaked on the wooden surface of his little bedside table uncomfortably, he didn't feel rested at all.  
A long day was laying ahead of him so he dragged his body into the shower, knowing that the hot water would refresh him at least a little bit, enough to reach the little coffee shop where he would get his usual morning coffee to go that would keep him going until lunch break.  
He thought about telling Himchan about this 'dream'. Since he was a teenager he suffered from sleeping paralysis every once in a while, especially when he was stressed but this had never happened before and it scared him. Was it a dream or did it really happen? He didn't know and didn't know how to find out, but he would worry about this later, they had exams to prepare for and he needed his mind to be clear for that. Everything else had to wait.  


***

In the following few months, Daehyun kept having these kind of dreams. There was always the fire and there was always the blonde boy. It wasn't Lotte anymore where this happened, but it did happen and every time he woke up with a scream, the picture of the burned face of the blonde still vivid in his mind.  
He had told Himchan about it but the other just shrugged it off. Daehyun was sure there was more behind that and he would get cautious and anxious every time someone with blonde hair walked past him, he was getting paranoid. 

One day he called his mother and even though she told him not to worry and try to think of something else, Daehyun knew that she felt uneasy about this too. It had become summer and it was very hot outside, the heat always reminded him of the fire crawling up on him and the blonde one, reminded him of the terrified screams and his heart would start throbbing violently. 

“Watch out where you're going,” Himchan warned him. Daehyun had almost walked into a bicycle and dropped his cup of iced coffee. He turned his head around and sighed. Thankfully, nothing had happened and the young girl rode off as if nothing had ever happened.  
“Thanks,” Daehyun mumbled.  
“You're welcome. I think it's time you should see a doctor about your sleeping problem, you start looking like a panda,” Himchan said. Daehyun sighed again.  
“I know. I will once the summer break starts, I promise,” Daehyun tried to sound cheerful. But in all honesty, he was worried as well. The dreams kept plaguing his nights, the blonde boy haunted his days and he felt as if it was years ago since he had the last satisfying sleep. 

A warm breathe brushed past them, the air making the hairs on Daehyun's arms stand up. He shuddered. When he was younger he used to like the summer, he loved laying at the beach and sizzling under the beaming sun until his skin would get a nice bronze tan. But since he was experiencing this awful dreams of a fire swallowing him up, even the slightest warm sensation made him feel uncomfortable. He brushed over his arms to stop the shudder. 

They were on their way to the biggest library in Seoul. Both of them had assignments that needed to be worked on and the library provided by their University didn't offer enough help to grant them the grades they needed. The hot summer air burned Daehyun's neck and he rubbed it to ease the stinging sensation on his skin.  
The smell was the first thing Daehyun noticed. He knew it too well, the stinging stench of burning wood and plastic. His feet were rooted to the ground, his heartbeat accelerating quickly. Carefully he looked around, from the left to the right and back again, but there was nothing suspicious in his sight, he was going crazy. But Himchan stopped as well, sucking in the smell with his nose audibly. It was Himchan who pointed with his finger to the sky where a thick dark cloud stood up from the buildings. 

Daehyun's mother had always told him to be cautious of fire, but all he could think about was the blonde boy. Without a word, Daehyun started running. His cup of coffee dropped on the floor and he mentally apologized to who ever had to pick it up because he had more important matters at hand. As he got closer to the source, the smell got stronger and it was only a few streets away when the building was finally in sight. 

It was a music shop, Daehyun remembered it from one of his dreams and dread filled his stomach. His sides were stinging and his throat was dry but what if the blonde boy was inside of the shop? This was his chance to break the devilish cycle, this would be able to end his dreams of the burned down face, Daehyun was sure.  
Onlookers gathered in a safe distance to be able to follow the happenings, Daehyun pushed himself through the crowd roughly. He could hear Himchan calling out his name from behind but he didn't want to stop, he didn't have the time to stop. The only thing he could hope for was that Himchan would not get himself into danger. 

The fire brigade had not arrived yet but he could see a few workers sitting on the pavement on the other side of the street, their uniforms dirty. People gave them water and checked for injuries until the ambulance would arrive. Daehyun's eyes fell over the people in the uniforms, there was no blonde boy between them. Was he still inside?  
Thick smoke made it difficult to breathe and see, the glass windows that surfaced the whole front of the building had already burst. Pulling the hem of his t-shirt over his mouth, he walked in, ignoring every voice of sense in his mind that this was a stupid idea, that he would get himself killed if he entered the building.

He coughed immediately and made sure to keep his head as low as possible as the rules in the case of a fire popped into his mind. The fire had already spread a lot and the heat was almost unbearable. In his ears echoed the sound of the cracking wood that the fire was eating its way through. His heart was beating fast, so fast that he thought he may faint any second, he knew he was running out of time. 

There was only one place that still seemed safe to go and Daehyun made the turn to his left. Shelves had fallen over and the remains of violins and guitars were scattered over the floor. A quick look around told Daehyun that no one was there and he turned around to leave again.  
But then, desperate whimpers and the calls for help caught his attention and Daehyun's head shot up in shock. Daehyun took in a deep breath and he had to cough again as the smoke filled his lungs. He coughed until his chest was burning but he was determined to find the source.  
A few meters away, with his body caught underneath a large shelf was a young male, probably around Daehyun's age. The male was conscious and tried to lift up the pieces of wood but he seemed too weak to free himself. 

With quick steps Daehyun approached him, the boy was blonde, just like in his dreams. Daehyun had made it in time. They didn't exchange any words but Daehyun used all strength he had left to get the heavy shelf off of the other's legs as quickly as possible. He ignored the scratches on his arms and hands and he ignored the stinging pain coming from the wounds.  
Once the boy's legs were free, it was obvious that at least one of them was broken and he would not be able to get out of the building by himself. It was getting hotter and the air hat become so thin that Daehyun felt dizzy. There was no other chance but carrying the boy out, so Daehyun pulled the other up and motioned for him to swing his arms over his shoulders so Daehyun could give him a piggyback ride. 

Daehyun's legs were wobbling and he stumbled over something and almost lost his balance. To their luck though, four fire fighters came in to help them to leave the building. He was grateful because he knew he wouldn't have made it out by himself and the thought of it scared him.  
Everything else after that passed by in a blurry haze. Daehyun only remembered being carried out and when he came back to his senses, he was laying on a stretcher inside of an ambulance car. His throat was dry and he had a headache but apart from that, he didn't feel injured. 

Slowly, he tried to get up and sat on the edge of a stretcher and looked down on his arms and legs. There were several scratches and they had not been treated yet so he couldn't have been out for too long. He could hear people talking, the loudest voice being Himchan's and Daehyun felt guilty for worrying the other so much. It had been reckless of him to do this, he knew this but he had acted on instinct. The door of the ambulance was open so he peeked out to see if he could find his best friend.  
Himchan found him before he could and Daehyun was embraced in a bone-crushing hug as rebuking words were muttered into his ear. Daehyun croaked out his apologies, his voice was weak. 

“Where is he?” Daehyun wanted to know. Himchan knew that he was asking about the young man whose life he had just saved and pointed to another ambulance that still stood there.  
With slow steps, Daehyun approached the car, two paramedics were inside to treat the wounded boy but their motions didn't seem rushed. When they heard footsteps from the outside, one of them turned his head. Daehyun was met with a disapproving look and he looked at his feet, no words needed to be spoken to make him feel like a young kid being scolded.

“This was very reckless and dangerous of you,” the paramedic said and Daehyun looked up. “Nonetheless, you saved someone's life and can be proud of yourself,” he added.  
The paramedics stepped out to give them a moment of privacy and with a dreadful feeling in his stomach, Daehyun set his foot on the step. He could only see a pair of bare feet, partly bandaged. He stepped up and let his eyes roam over the body. A uniform stained with blood and dirt greeted him, but even though it didn't look very appealing, it didn't look too bad either. 

At last, Daehyun's eyes fell onto the boy's face and a heavy weight was lifted off of his chest when he saw that it wasn't burned. Curious brown eyes looked up at him, tired but grateful. There were a few cuts on the blonde's face but apart from that, his skin seemed immaculate. Daehyun smiled as relief washed over him.  
The male lifted his hand to move the oxygen mask that covered his mouth and nose but Daehyun made a gesture to stop the other. He simply nodded because he knew the blonde wanted to thank him. First, he needed a proper treatment and after that they would get the chance to talk, Daehyun was sure of that. 

There was a name tag on the boy's uniform. Yoo Youngjae. Daehyun took the blonde's hand and the other squeezed it thankfully. They smiled and Daehyun knew, they would definitely meet again.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again, I hope you enjoyed this! If you did, please let me know, you could make my day with that!


End file.
